


An Adventurer’s Guide to Not Dying

by Guacamole_is_superior



Category: My Hero Academia
Genre: Character Arcs, Fantasy AU, Past Character Death, Slow Burn, Todoroki Enji | Endeavor Being An Asshole, Wholesome, arc based plot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-29
Updated: 2020-12-13
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:28:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,967
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27785257
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Guacamole_is_superior/pseuds/Guacamole_is_superior
Summary: Follow the story of Izuku Midoriya, a starry eyed, wanna be adventurer. A job associated with danger, risk, fame, and glory. He starts his journey to become the kings right hand, the number one. Practically royalty and greatly admired. On his journey he meets many other travelers and friends of which he journeys and grows with.
Kudos: 3





	1. Pilot

**Author's Note:**

> In which an adventure begins...

‘Finally. It’s finally time. I’ve waited fifteen years for this moment. All for right now.’  
Midoria buttoned up his green vest. He had prepared, re-prepared, rethought, then prepared once more in a never ending cycle. Planning, hoping, praying to become a-

“An Adventurer…” He breathed.

He’s so excited he interrupted his own intro exposition and narration. Brat. Fine, no exposition then. Izuku Midoriya looked in the mirror. He had his vest, and after thoroughly debating the fabric, different uses, temperature regulation, and durability of the outfit, had landed on this one. He had a green vest with two rows of yellow buttons, along with a fairly nice, cream dress shirt under. It was both formal, and flexible fabric. He had teal pants with the seams going down the fronts, he had a few bags as well as his comfy red shoes. 

Then the sword. The one thing that granted his mother the courage to allow her son to try to become an adventurer. It was uncommon to say the least, in terms of his ‘gift’. Not everyone who had a gift was an adventurer by far, but all adventurers had gifts. Think squares and rectangles. Oh right, gifts are- 

“Izuku!!!”

I swear to the mages. 

“Everything’s ready!!!” Inko shouted up to her son. 

Midoriya ran down the spiral stairs, which shook under his clomping feet. He quieted slightly as he ran down the spiral. He met his mother at the entrance of his house. Or rather, the exit for him. His mother looked at him with apprehension. She took a step toward him, paused, then burst out into tears. Full on, crocodile tears.

“My- My- MY BABY!!!” She sobbed, reaching out to him in a full embrace. “Oh, do you have to go? Do you really? It so- so dangerous.” She hesitated on these words, apprehensive for how he’d take those words.

Midoriya was slightly set aback, but only for a second till he processed what she meant by that. “You know this is my dream mom. I promise I’ll write. I’ll send trinkets and after big jobs I’ll send home coins so you can treat yourself.” 

“Oh Izuku… be careful. Please just be careful.” She begged, holding him in place by his shoulders.

“I will, I will,” He claimed. 

“Promise.” She didn’t let go.

He hesitated. “I promise.” 

She hesitated in response, before letting go and stepping back. She grabbed a bag off the table. “Bread, meat, paper, quill, and ink, snacks, glass bottles, your book, and your figurine.” She said, eyes avoiding the bag. She paused before she grabbed it. She paused before she gave it to him. She paused to put her down after he took it. When she finally looked at the bag, she almost flinched. An adventurer's pack. A goodbye.  
She burst into tears yet again. “Izuku. You’ve wanted to be an adventurer since you could walk but- yet- oh be safe.”

He started to tear up. No, he burst into tears. Dang, that’s some water pressure right there. After they started to dry their tears, Midoria left with a goodbye, a wave, and two promises. To write, and to return safe. And to return safe was to become an adventurer. He was not opposed to either promise.  
Oh, one more thing to note. That night, Inko, or should I say Miss Midoriya, went to the market to get ingredients for dinner, and when she got home she realized she had bought food for two people. She made dinner for two, set out two plates, and cried over her dinner. She had leftovers for lunch the next day, which she couldn’t bring herself to eat.

Anyways, Midoriya walked himself happily through the forest, not knowing entirely where he was going. Oftentimes adventurers, especially beginner fledgling adventurers, traveled in groups. They would tackle tasks together, as a group. So, he figured finding a group would be the best plan of action. Or even a mentor. Oh to find a mentor. But a group would come first. To get a mentor you needed at least the basic, minimum skills of adventuring. He started muttering to himself. Where to find quest boards, the best way to make friends and find groups. 

(You can probably skip this. Just trust me.) “Most people in groups bigger than four or five don’t really look for new members. Anything above six is out of the question. As a beginner I should probably have a larger group. It’ll be hard to convince more seasoned adventurers to partner up with such a newbie. Maybe I should look around the town? I’ve heard that adventurers had better chemistry in groups that they happened into by chance. Although this is just speculation, it could be connected to the nature of each individual's gifts. Maybe I could just head out and hope to find somebody. That seems very imp-“ And he tripped. Right in front of him was a rock that he completely missed. 

“Are you alright?” A soft voice asked above him. 

He looked up to see two people. The voice was a girl with pretty brown hair. She was leaning on a staff and had one gloved hand out to Midoriya. She had a pink hood that connected to a little shoulder cape. Under that she had a simple dress, with frilled wrists, under that was leggings and soft boots. A girl. An actual girl. To her left was a boy with strictly combed, yet spiky grey-blue hair. He had glasses and a full set of armor. He had a suspicious glare about him. Intimidating, to say the least. 

“O-oh! Yeah I’m- I’m good!!” He exclaimed, a little too forced. He took her hand and stood up. A girl's hand! Then it clicked. The girl with the staff and hood. A boy in armor. His eyes widened. “Are you a mage?”

She was shocked at first, but then she laughed nervously and scratched the back of her head. “Not really. Not yet at least, just a spell caster. I have to become an adventurer before I can start my training to become a mage.”

“Still, that’s amazing. You just must have a great gift then!” He said giddy. Spellcasters are rare. And powerful. Least once they’re fully trained into mages. Mages are very respected, since they assist in-

“Yes, yes. It’s great. Now we really must be going! He looks… suspicious… to say the least.” He said judgingly.

I am going to commit a murder. Can’t I give a little exposition??

Midoriya froze. What? Suspicious?? He didn’t know whether to feel offended or disappointed. “I’m right here…” Midoriya gave him an incredulous look.

“Iida!!” The girl said back. So his name was Iida. “I’m sorry about him, he gets too serious sometimes, he takes his job a little too seriously.” She apologized with another hesitant laugh. As a mage in training, they are often recommended to join with a knight in training AKA squire, in their journey. 

“It’s my job to protect you from all dangers!! This is not but the most honorable job! It cannot be taken lightly!!” He chopped the air fervently to establish his point.

Midoriya, having no clue how to respond to that, just responded “Yeah, of course. Ha ha.” 

“Are you an adventurer in training as well?” She asked, ignoring her passionate guard. 

“Yeah, I-“ ‘wait. Should I tell them I just left? If I do, will they not want me as part of their group…‘ “My name is Izuku Midoriya!” 

“Ah right! I’m Ochako Uraraka!” She paused and looked at Iida.

“And I’m Tenya Iida. It was fun meeting you but we have to go.” He glared at Midoriya, then at Uraraka. 

“Hey- would you guys like to be” he tried to swallow his almost fear of Iida, “be in a group? I’m new, so I don’t have anyone to be in a group with.” He admitted.

“Of course! That sounds like fun! Isn’t it good luck or something to be in groups you meet by chance anyway?” Uraraka agreed.

“That ridiculous superstition?” He accused haughtily.

“Come on- uh- Iida. Think about it! It’s much quicker and easier than finding someone else!” Midoriya reasoned.

Iida hesitated. Both of them were looking at him wide eyed. Encouraging. “Fine. But that doesn’t mean that I trust you.” He compromised.

Midoriya let out a sigh of relief, followed by an explosion of tears. He had actually found a group! He was one step closer to becoming the king's right hand adventurer. The number one!

Ochako jumped back, surprised. “What’s wrong? Are you hurt?” She asked worriedly.

“I got myself a teaaamm!!!” He sobbed.

After adjusting herself, she just patted his shoulder and assured him, “let it out. Just let it out.” 

And with that, his first step toward adventuring had begun. Little did he know just what was in store for the future. 

————————

They approached the board. A few groups of adventurers were around. Some seemed to be rather disinterested by the board, others relieved. “Why does everyone look so… depleted…?” Uraraka asked worriedly, eyes jumping from group to group... 

Midoriya walked over to the board, and there in front of him was the answer.  
There was nothing. Well, there were quests, but all of them dirt cheap prices. You couldn’t buy a one night's rest at an inn for these. Granted, they were really easy jobs. Picking a special type of flower for an old lady, collecting water for a family… reading a book for a children’s center? Midoriya stared wide eyed and disappointed. No matter what town you went to there was always some problem. Some great issue.

“I guess I should be happy that everyone in this town is safe but… nothing?” Midoriya pleaded. 

“To be doing a good job is to have no jobs left to do! That is the contradiction of our job!” Iida explained bluntly, rather dramatic as he again chopped the air.

“Nothing… wait.” Ochako started, “right here.” She whispered, not wanting to garner attention from the other groups around them.

They huddled around her. She lifted up a flyer for removing some boulders in the area. Under it was a small, square paper. It looked like it had been sitting there for a decent time, but still hadn’t been taken down. It read, ‘help with the extermination or removal of a group of venomous serpents that has been terrorizing me and my garden. 30,000 coppers.’ 

“Woah. Nice find Ochako!” Midoriya cheered a little too adamantly, gaining the attention of some around them. “How’d you find this?”

“Oh, I’ve always had a thing for finding good prices.” She admitted, laughing although hesitantly.

“This is fantastic! We must go find this employer! Onward to…” he read the pamphlet, “Grove Cottage!” He cheered.

They nodded their head in agreement, a sense of new determination. They had gotten their first job.

Iida pulled out a map, then another map… then another. Each one focusing more and more on their location. “It’s important to keep diligent notes to make sure you never get off track or lost!” He cheered as they marched away through the village.

“We’re lost…” Ochako admitted it first.

“No, just a few more turns! I’m sure this time!” Iida argued stiffening his shoulders. 

Midoriya followed his lead, knowing full well that they weren’t. “Hey Iida, could I look at it?” He said hesitantly, waiting for backlash.

“I said it’s fully under control!” He exclaimed. He paused. “Fine.” He gave them the map.

“Oh, we’re not that far off actually.” Midoriya realized. Iida huffed indignantly. “But we should be heading north, not east.” 

Iida depleted as they changed course, but soon enough in the distance a little cottage could be seen. Midoriya walked on eggshells as he tried to encourage Iida. “You did well Iida, really! You were prepared and with a little time I’m sure you’ll be fantastic at this! And- and the only reason I could read this was because I’ve always been obsessed with this kind of thing!” Midoriya started to stammer, his explanation turning to muttering.

Iida paused after taking back the map. “I guess you’re not as bad as I thought…” he paused. All of a sudden he got real formal and stiff, “I’m sorry for mistaking you’re strange stammering for suspicious! Please accept my apology! It was a foolish accusation!” He shouted, without actually shouting, in a stiff and formal way. If Midoriya hadn’t seen Iida’s actions earlier he would have taken it as forced. 

“Oh! That’s alright! It was just in good practice! I totally understand!!” Midoriya responded, just as awkward.

“Ooh, I’m so excited! Let’s do our best for this right!” Ochako chimed in, fist softly gripped.

“Yes.”

“Of course!” They both agreed.

Prepared as ever, they chimed the doorbell. They heard a creaking behind the door and then it opened. An old lady opened the door. She took a second to take them in, squinting at them. 

Iida took charge, “Hello Ma’am! We are the adventurers here to take on your quest! My name is Tenya Iida! This is Ochako Uraraka and this is Izuku Midoriya!” He was forceful about the introduction, but polite.

“Oh hello children.” She had a scratchy voice which matched her grey hair. “Yes, let me show you to my garden.” She invited.

Shakily, she walked in front of them and closed the door behind her. All three of them had a slight instinct to help her walk, but she seemed to hold herself fair enough. They followed her to a pretty metal gate, granted overrun by foliage. She opened the gate with a creak.

“How long have you been dealing with this problem?” Midoriya asked.

“Oh, a few years. They used to be harmless little creatures. Snakes are a good part of the ecosystem and keep away rats, so I let them stay. But then they started to change, oh they killed Tommy and ruined my garden.”

“They killed someone??” Ochako asked worriedly.

“Oh, my old cat. He was overdue as I am, but still. These are what did him in.” She said this warmly, talking about her own imminent death so peacefully. “When you get to my age you’ll drive yourself mad if you fear death. He’s a friend to most folks my age.” She walked into the garden and they followed, awkward around such a warm old lady talking about death to a bunch of adventurers, whose job description is to risk your life for your craft.  
Inside the garden there was a bunch of destroyed and eaten crops. Everything was messy and overrun, while also overgrazed. It was a wide open back yard with a plateaued cliff to the left of the gate. The house on the same side as the gate, and the rest being open fields. It was a large garden, but still obviously a home gardes. “Oh, my poor garden.” She said saddened. She obviously hadn’t been in the garden. “Would you mind if I go inside?”

“Of course not. We’ll have it handled!” Midoriya assured. 

She waved a goodbye and thanked them, and wandered back into her house. “So… where are the snakes again?” Ochako asked as they walked into the gate. Vines brushed her shoulder as she walked past it.

“Firstly, we must find the snakes! Then- should we relocate them or exterminate them?” Iida asks bluntly, preparing a plan of action.

“If we move them to the wrong spot they could bother someone else.” Midoriya reasoned apprehensively, “and it will only improve the ecosystem here if we kill them at this point. I don’t want to but it’s the best choice.”

“Yeah but… the poor animals.” Ochako argued, grabbing tightly at her staff. 

“How would we make sure the snakes don’t come back?” Iida questioned back.

“...we couldn’t.” Ochako reasoned to herself.

“So we eliminate them. Agreed?” Iida asked.

They both nodded slowly. Their first job and they already have their own qualms. They parted off and looked through the garden. Yet there was nothing except crushed plants. The only issue was, the crushed zones were huge, as if a bunch of snakes were in some sort of pack as they moved, which sounded crazy. He followed the trails. One thing he noticed was the excessive amount of these strange mushrooms. Which made sense when he thought about it. If the snakes were eating the rats, that means there would be an access of plants and other foods that rats eat, since there were no rats. One strange thing though, is the mushroom itself. Midoriya picked up one of the mushrooms. 

“It’s such a vibrant red. Not to mention dry. Rounded and- yep, just like I thought. White gills. Even has a skirt. No doubt this is a poisonous mushroom. But why would a poisonous mushroom be in a garden? Where would it have come from? If the rats are eating them and then dying, then snakes eating them, it should kill the snakes too. But it has the opposite effect. The snakes have turned poisonous… along with the unusual behavior, moving in such tightly packed groups. But if the mushrooms are killing all the rats, then shouldn’t there be an affect on the snakes, lessening their population? Not all dead rats can go to the snakes after all. And why would this all of a sudden just happen? Was the lady tricked into introducing toxic mushrooms into her garden?” Midoriya rambled.

“Midoriya! Ochako! I found one.” Iida shouted, holding up a slithering snake. It tried to bite him but his armor protected him. 

Midoriya ran over, “Nice Iida! Are there any other snakes?” 

Iida gave him a confused look. “Snakes are solitary creatures right? They don’t go in packs.”

“Yes, but look at the tracks. They’re way too big for one snake. Even some of the bigger ones.” Midoriya reasoned.

“Yeah… that is strange. But no, this is the only one.” Iida responded. Midoriya took to himself in thought. “What are you thinking, Midoriya?”

“Well, look at this. This is a poisonous mushroom. There’s an abundance of them. Rats eat mushrooms and all the rats are dead. So that makes me think that rats have been eating them, then snakes eat the rats, then that somehow affects their behavior. The biggest question is why doesn’t it kill the snakes instead of boosting their abilities? After all it can’t be an adaptation to resist them, that takes generations to happen. And where did the mushrooms come from? It seems that they were just introduced because firstly, she just recently had this problem by a few years. Secondly, as you just found, a normal snake. No strange patterns or actions, it looks perfectly normal. Just a garden snake. So some of the snakes are eating poisoned rats, then those snakes are mutating, or maybe their children are, other snakes are just fine. If not starved, since these mutations probably cause more competition for these smaller normal rats. Not to-“ 

“Midoriya!” Iida shouted, snapping him out of his muttering. “Calm down. I get it. You’re getting side tracked and- how do you know so much about snakes and mushrooms? How do you know that mushroom is poisonous?” Iida questioned.

“Oh, I’m a bit of an adventurer nerd. I wanted to know everything I could and wound up being a real science nerd.” He admitted.

“Okay, so, correct me if I’m wrong, but what I got from your explanation is that there are poisonous mushrooms that are affecting snakes abnormally. If we remove these mushrooms, then that should solve the problem?” He asked.

“It should, but the snakes already affected will still have to be removed.” Midoriya explained. “But not any normal snakes.”

“Hey guys, something is strange about these mushrooms.” Ochako mentioned.

“Their poisonous right? Midoriya just explained that… I think… to me.” Iida explained.

“No, not that. Wait, they're poisonous? Well anyways, these mushrooms have a magical trace.” She explained.

“That’s it!” Midoriya exclaimed, “they’re magical!” They both gave him a confused look. “No I mean. So rats eat said magical poisonous mushrooms, which are eaten by snakes, which causes the snakes to mutate.”

“Okay, so that explains the sudden change in snake behavior, why are there poisonous mushrooms in the garden?” Iida asked.

“She’s a witch.” Ochako reasoned.

“Witch?” Midoriya asked.

“Spellcasters almost always become mages. But some don’t become mages, and they’re called witches, or in more derogatory terms ‘hags’. Mages often cast charms, spells, and fortune telling, whereas witches do potions and curses. Dark magic. That’s where the poisonous mushrooms comes in. She probably doesn’t even recognize the effect these mushrooms can have on animals.” Ochako explained.

“So… we remove the affected snakes, and remove the mushrooms? Is there any way to magically neutralize the mushroom’s effect?” Iida asked Ochako.

“I don’t know. That would probably be possible with a protection charm? But this seems to be a pretty complex magical footprint. Not to mention I can’t produce long lasting charms. Charms need to be renewed often, depending on the user's skill and abilities.” Ochako explained. She shifted her weight and started fidgeting with her thumb. She couldn’t do much in this situation.

“So-“ Midoriya started, but just as he did, behind him there was a rumble, a shake, then a slithering.

Finally. Some real action.


	2. The First Quest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Midoriya and his group are confronted with the serpent, and they might just be in over their heads.

Behind them the ground erupted. And what followed was the serpent. Not quite what Midoriya expected. Instead of a group of slithering snakes, like some deranged, messy, ball of yarn, it was one giant, monstrous, huge, ginormous beast. Did I mention it was big?

Okay it wasn’t THAT big. It seemed to be around four feet thick though so… still giant. It towered over the house.

“What were you saying about eating mouses Midoriya? He looks like he eats people instead.” Ochako joked out of place for the sudden terror that had outstretched between them.

“Yeah, just a passing thought.” He responded, eyes not moving from the giant beast. 

Before they could strategize, it was slithering toward them. Full of fury and aggression. It’s head was huge, but it looked like a normal garden snake (except for the size, of course). They rolled out of the way of its first attack, which caused shockwaves and tremors to send through the ground. They tripped as they ran.

“What do we do!!” Ochako shouted. 

“Uhh- I don’t know!” Midoriya shouted back. No matter how many times he went on fake adventures as a kid, no matter how much he had prepped he could have never been prepared for this turn of events. 

Iida took charge of the moment. Extremely light on his feet despite the armor, he started rallying. “Avoid the range of his head, stay outside of the heads range, while still on the body! Look for weak spots and attack!” He instructed, running along the snake's sides and unsheathing his sword. 

Midoriya and Uraraka took a moment to process before processing what he said. In another second they had started going after the underbelly of the beast, hoping to slow it down. This, however, didn’t seem to work, only angering the snake more.

It attacked again with a wide mouthed jab. “Keep trying!” Iida exclaimed, showing off his training and skills. 

It wasn’t working, unfortunately. Midoriya barely dogged the next jab from the snake. “Hey, I’ve got an idea!” Midoriya shouted. “Uraraka! Can you make things float?” He asked.

“Yeah! It’s my specialty.” She said with a sense of pride.

“And Iida, your gift has to do with speed right?l Midoriya asked.

“Yes! What’s your plan Midoriya?” Iida asked back, sending another gash into the snake.

“It’s risky, but it’s the best choice. Uraraka, you have Iida and my swords floating and whenever he strikes you send it through his mouth while me and Iida pull you out of the way and misdirect the snake from hitting you.” He shouts.

“No way!!” Iida responded immediately. “No. Uraraka will not be put in danger like that! As her guard-“ Iida shouted back stubbornly.

“I’ll do it! I can do it!” Uraraka shouted.

“It’s too dangerous!” Iida defies.

“Iida, we’ll protect her the entire time. I won’t let her get hurt!” Midoriya responded back.

“No way! There has to be another way!” Iida shouted back. He obviously was unwavering in this choice.

“Iida!!” She shouted back. She wasn’t having it. She ran up next to Midoriya and without warning unsheathed his sword, “I’m borrowing this.”

“Are you sure?” Midoriya assures.

Her head was screaming no. She couldn’t do it. No, no, no, no, “Yes.” She said.

Midoriya nodded, ready to cover her.

“Uraraka? What are you doing? Don’t you dare!” He shouted, but was distracted by yet another jab of the snake. 

Uraraka paused, stood her ground. She looked up shakily toward the beast in front of her. ‘I can’t do this, I can’t do it, Iida knows I can’t, I can’t.’ Her mind ranted.

Midoriya was right beside her, ready to grab her and run as soon as it attacked.

The serpent noticed the still kids, waiting. A sword wavering unsteadily in front of them. It attacked without hesitation. Uraraka froze. But only for a second, she sent it toward him, but at that moment Iida shouted, “Run!!” 

Uraraka flinched as she sent forward, then she was swept off her feet and was sent rolling as a large bang sounded behind them. Uraraka and Midoriya slid on the ground, slamming their shoulders into the floor. “Are you okay?” Midoriya asked Uraraka immediately.

She looked back before she claimed anything about her state of wellbeing. She had missed, sorta. She was aiming for straight through the mouth, but instead it hit the eye. Not exactly as planned but it worked. Uraraka sighed, shaken. “I’m good, thank you Midoriya. Are you okay?” She asked in return pushing herself up.

“Yeah, I think. He rolled his shoulders, tested his legs as he started to stand up. He helped Uraraka up to her feet. She dusted herself off and looked over at the snake. For reader courtesy, I won’t explain it but let’s just say, looking into someone’s eyes and looking inside someone’s eyes are two completely different experiences.

She gave a sympathetic look. “I’m sorry.” She then proceeded to puke all over the ground. “Between that image and using a floating spell, my stomach doesn’t settle well.” 

“Oh, sorry.” Midoriya apologized.

“I’m the one- ugh- I’m the one who chose to do it, don’t feel bad.” She assured him with a woozy smile. ‘This is a moment, right?’ Midoriya was convinced that was a moment. One hundred percent certain. 

Then he was turned, grabbed by the collar, and was shouted at. “I can’t believe you even suggested that! Either of you could have gotten hurt! I can’t believe your recklessness!” Despite being yelled at by a very angry, aggressive, pissed off iida, he almost felt too calm. Iida had said, either of you. Not just Uraraka.

Well, not too calm. “I- I’m sorry Iida! But- I- we were already in danger and- and it was the best option!” Midoriya stuttered.

“We’re only beginner adventurers! We barely even have a team and you think we can take on a giant beast? It was obviously territorial, as evidence it hasn’t hurt Lady right? We could have escaped and regrouped for a better plan! Gotten help!” He reasoned, fuming. “We’re not ready to be taking on huge monsters!”

Iida was right, of course. “I- I’m sorry…” he stammered. He was going to stop there, but the way Iida was confronting him, he was mad because he was concerned, not any other cruel reason. “I knew we could do it Iida.”

“We’ve never had one quest before!! There was nothing to base that on!” Iida shouted back.

“The way you took charge immediately, how Uraraka seemed quite sure in her abilities. It just felt- right!” Midoriya tried to explain. He didn’t quite know to explain his trust in them, it just seemed so natural.

Iida’s face scrunched before he stepped back and sighed, adjusting his glasses. “We need to figure out a proper compromise if we’re going to make this work.” He said it with pressure, but Midoriya’s trust seemed to shake his anger. “My first job is Uraraka’s safety.” He said again. His job, his responsibility, yeesh. 

“I can take care of myself! Uraraka said, suddenly defiant.

“I-“ he stopped for a second, “Of course you can. But it’s still my responsibility to make sure your care is but top notch!” He said again, almost like a broken record, his demeanor strictly business once again.

Her defiance softened to sincerity, “Thank you for the concern Iida, but I can handle myself.” She suppressed her ‘I can’t do it’s’ because she just did.

“Hey, look on the bright side!” Midoriya cheered. “We completed our first quest with minimal injury!” At that moment he raised up a fist in encouragement, only for a blood stain on his side. He looked at it with shock. Huh.

“Ohmygodyourebleeding!” Ochako heaved. 

“See? This is why you need to be more careful!” Iida lectured, turning his friend's injury into a lesson.

“The witch! She should be able to help!” Uraraka shouted, wide eyed.

“It’s really not that bad.” Midoriya grouched as his two friends freaked out around him. With a sigh he grabbed his sword and walked back to the woman’s door. She opened just as he was about to knock.

“Come inside! Oh, you’re all cut up, let me help you with that.” She said softly. She led him and his friends inside and immediately the whole witch thing clicked. There were bottles, herbs, stewing pots, and the like all inside the house.

She led him to a stool as she pulled out a towel, long sheet of fabric, and a small bottle filled with clear liquid. Was that a healing potion? Uraraka looked over with interest around the room. She looked somewhere between curious and unsettled.

Midoriya unbuttoned his vest and pulled up the side of his shirt, now doused with blood. The cut was actually pretty small, but it had bled quite a look from all his movement. The old lady firstly patted out the blood with the towel. She then pulled out the bottle.

“Is that a healing potion?” Uraraka asked, leaning in on her staff to get a better look in the dimly lit room.

She laughed quietly. “No, this is just some alcohol to clean it. Even I still can’t make a functional healing potion. I guess it just doesn’t work with me. Magic is finicky like that. Works differently for every person.” Her smile stayed throughout the entire conversation. She seemed unfazed by the fact that she couldn’t do some parts of magic, just because. “I do like making potions though.” She said sweetly as she pressed the alcohol into Midoriya’s cut.

He flinched, but only slightly. The woman tied the fabric around his rib cage and pulled it tight. One more slight flinch. Despite her small frame she had a strength to her. “And now.” She started. She stepped back and put up her hands. 

The blood from Midoriya’s shirt started to seep away, as if air. Uraraka gasped. “You can cast spells without a staff??” She gaped.

The woman simply laughed again. “It comes with time.” She said kindly. “I guess you could say it’s where I excel when it comes to magic.” 

“That’s amazing.” She said in awe.

“Everyone has something. That’s the whole thing about gifts isn’t it? They should be celebrated. Delved into and explored, cut open into.” She said, almost to herself more than anyone else. It was a strange sentence, but she was also an old lady. It seems more of a granted that she had some weird personality quirk.

“Not everyone has gifts.” Midoriya quipped without thinking.

They looked at him with slight shock. He said it more accusingly than he meant. “I- I just mean, I think it’s more an aspect of human nature rather than one's gift!” He stammered, waving his hands as if trying to wave away his previous bitterness. 

“I like that.” Uraraka agreed with a smile.

Midoriya’s face poofed red. A girl; liking what he said. Ahhhhhhhhh.

“Well, looks like you’re alright.” She said kindly. She pulled out a bag of coins. Each golden coin was equal to 1,000 ‘coppers’. Inside the bag were, in fact, 30 gold coins. Now that’s some real money.

She handed it to Midoriya who, after a second of deliberation, handed it to Iida. “The most responsible person ought to carry it.”

Iida beamed with pride as he stashed it into a bag. Everything was set. “Oh, one more thing.” The woman continued with a smile. “Here.” She handed a piece of paper to Uraraka. It was a curse. Curses were unique. They lasted forever, unless broken by either the caster or a stronger mage or witch. They also oftentimes required sacrifices, which is why they were so powerful. And so dangerous.

It read ‘The burning Curse.’ Real original, I know. ‘Cast on any item to allow it to burst into flames at the casters' will. Requires -one caster -Tears of a Phoenix -flower picked during a red sunset’ curses are weird like that, they’re so picky. ‘-item needed -binding curse.’ The details continued, ‘this curse, although requiring a skilled magic user, also requires a fiery drive and balance. Warning - curses are an unreasonable and unsteady form of magic. They require a sense of balance to be able to achieve. Do not attempt any curse in a stressed or uncomfortable environment. Risks include curse malfunction, curse failure, and even curse rebound.’ It warned.

“Umm… thank you but- I don’t know if this really suits me…” Uraraka admitted, “you said it yourself, magic is finicky. I just know this doesn’t suit me. And I don’t really know if I even want to go into dark magic anyways.” She explained gripping the paper.

“Keep it anyways. I may be a witch, but I do dabble in fortune telling. Something tells me that will come in handy to you.” She nudged.

‘Great. Now I’m stuck carrying around a black magic curse, which isn’t even useful to me. What could it be used for anyway?’ Uraraka asked herself. She smiled and laughed apprehensively. “Well, thank you I guess?” She asked.

“Thank you so much for your generosity Ma’am! It was truly an honor to help!” Iida cheered. “And also, he mushrooms in your garden. They are what caused this! Although I don’t want to tell you what to do, It might be a good idea to invest in some pest repellent.” Iida recommended.

Smiled at that and led them out, and with a final word, “I know you say you don’t feel like exploring dark magic but I think you might be good at it.” She said with a goodbye.

The old woman closed the door and looked through her window to the trio heading out. She smiled. “Ochako Uraraka… and Midoriya Izuku.” Her voice raised from scratchy to almost screachy and sharp. Her facade melted away as she smiled. “How cute,” she smiled as she picked up the blood soaked towel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wonder who that deceptively sweet old lady is?


	3. Enter : Yaoyorozu

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the group settles in to an inn they make friendly acquaintance with a kind knight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here she is, Momo Yaoyorozu in all her glory.

“Ahh man! That was so scary!” Uraraka started. “I mean seriously.”

“Looking back I guess we had to expect something pretty bad. Especially for that price.” Midoriya reasoned. 

“From now on we don’t go charging into battles without sense, got it?” Iida jeered, still upset about the snake.

Uraraka almost felt like rolling her eyes, “you seriously need to calm down Iida. Smile.” She said with a grin. 

“I am calm.” He protested.

“I’ve been meaning to ask, how does the whole mage-in-training/Knight-in-training thing work?” Midoriya asked, eyes wide with curiosity.

“There’s not much to it really. Mages are quite uncommon. It’s honestly rare for them to meet each other outside of official gatherings. Oftentimes if they are going on adventuring they have the choice to approach the king and ask to be able to journey with a Squire in their trip.” Uraraka explained.

“And how are you guys picked?” Midoriya asks, leaning into the conversation.

“A fortune teller of course.” Iida said it is such an effortlessly haughty voice, as if that made absolutely perfect sense. Why wouldn’t an extremely talented and rare mage do such meaniao things as choose pairings for adventurers? “They look into different futures, and get a sense for who should be paired with who.”

“And your training? You both must have some.” Midoriya continued.

“I have been training for about a year now. Mainly by my brother. I signed up to be put into training and soon enough, I was paired up with Uraraka which has led me here.” He detailed.

“Your brother?”

“Ingenium! A great knight and hero to all!!” He exclaimed, chest puffed out and eyes shining.

“No way! He’s so cool! I’ve heard about him! He was always regarded for having fantastic speed and endurance!” Midoriya encouraged, in absolute awe over this newfound information. “And what was trading like for you Uraraka?” He asked more energized about what he had just learned.

“Well… I actually haven’t had much training. Usually mages will buy different spell books and guides but- well- we never really had the funds for those so most of the stuff I’ve learned was from mages I pursued to teach me more about it. I’ve learned a few different spells and charms but that’s about it.” She admitted.

“You really only learned from word of mouth?” Midoriya pressed. “You were able to so quickly use that floating spell!” 

“I- thanks.” She blushed. 

“So what’s the difference between spells, curses, and charms again? What’s the use of potions? How does fortune telling work exactly?” Midoriya exploded.

“Uhh well- spells are the ones that need constant tending, per say. You can have more control over what they do because you have to have a consistent energy output. Then there’s charms, which are less malleable than spells, but they require much less attention, and only really need to be renewed once and awhile, they’re meant to last, unlike spells. Then curses, they require the most skill, energy, and resources, not to mention how dangerous they are. Magic in general is finicky. It’s almost, well, it’s kinda alive in a sense. Different types require different things, attach to different people, and have different moods, almost. The stronger the magic, the more personality it gets. And- potions, was it- they require mostly time and ingredients but at little cost to a witches stamina. They require precision rather than power. They’re mainly for things affecting people’s bodies, rather than doing physical actions. Healing, poisons, boosts, that kind of thing. Then, honestly, I have no clue about fortune telling. Just that I’m not good at it.” Uraraka rambled, trying to answer all of his questions. 

Midoriya continued to ask them questions, adding comments, and making mental notes, all the way until they found an inn to sleep at. It was a decent looking place with charming green semi-circle trim. It was a town about 1 hours walk north from the cottage. They walked themselves into the inn where a, uhh, let’s say ‘scene’ seemed to be playing out. 

A tall woman with dark black hair pulled up into a high ponytail seemed to be fighting what looked like a little boy, with hair hidden under a rather strange hood, with large balls under it, it seemed. He was harassing her at first, then she had a sword to his neck. “Where is it?” She threatened.

“Ohmygodyouaresohot.” He breathed. 

“Where’d you put it? Where is it!” She shouted, tone sitting between disgusted and furious. 

“I- I uhh- fine It’s in my room!” He groveled, “wanna come inside to get it?” He practically begged.

“What is going on?” Uraraka asked Midoriya confused.

“Good question.” He countered.

The girl shivered and reeled back. “You are the worst person I’ve ever met.” She growled.

The girl turned away from him, disgusted to even look at him. She had on seemingly, well, useless armor. Her chest plate hugged her chest and over her heart, and she had armor on her shoulders, arms and hands. But her stomach was wide open. She had more armor around her hips, and connected to that was some front and back fabric covering her legs along with some long socks and boots with little wings on them.

“We should just avoid-“ Midoriya started before getting interrupted by Iida.

“This is shameful behavior!” Iida stepped in.

Too late now. It doesn’t feel good to be interrupted now does it, Midoriya? That’s what I thought. 

“As a fellow Knight, it is disgraceful to our job to publicly display such crude behavior!” Iida shouted.

After seeing her go all out on what seemed to be a kid, Midoriya could only wonder what was going to happen to Iida. “I’m sorry, he didn’t mean it!” Midoriya shooed in.

“Y-yeah!” Uraraka added, supported, stepping forward. “Sorry about that.”

She took the group in with surprise. She opened her mouth and they expected the berating of their lives, “Oh. Oh my god! I’m so sorry! I completely blanked. I- I should have been thinking about that.” She apologised with an endearing laugh. She adjusted herself and pushed her hands weight on her sheathed sword, resting her arm.

“As a fellow knight, we represent the entire kingdom's defense. We must show citizens our kind nature!” He continued.

“Yeah, of course.” She responded. She looked so unimposing all of a sudden. Almost purposefully hunching her shoulders, shortening her presence. “It’s just- he sorta stole my Ward’s staff, and I need it back.” She mused frustrated.

“He stole a spellcaster’s staff? How shameful!” Iida said in a complete one eighty in position. He turned on the small kid. No. Was it a teen? It was hard to tell.

He sunk down further, two fervent soldiers in training lecturing him on theft. “Where is it in your room? What room number do you have?” The girl pressed.

“I- in room 3, under my bed!” He gave way finally.

She huffed and stepped back. She put her hands in front of her and then sparkles. Then, right there, out of her stomach came a staff, it was a staff of black ice, with a small blue crystal in the crook.

Well, that explains the outfit and her gift. They gaped at her, wide eyed.

“There we go.” She said so effortlessly, as if she didn’t just pull an entire staff from her gut.

“What kind of gift is that?” The short kid/teen/guy asked bluntly.

“Hmm? Oh, I can summon objects I have a connection to as long as I know it’s location. The only downside is I have to summon it from my body, so armor just gets in the way.” She laughed with a smile. “Now, Mineta? Was it?” She confronted.

“Yesh sweet cheeks?” He asked, just throwing him at her.

“Don’t steal people’s stuff just to get their attention. Just talk to them.” She lectured. This is the kind of thing that would be said in a kind way, but she was just sour.

Before he had the slightest opportunity to respond, she turned on him and practically ran to the stairs. “Great meeting you guys!” She said to the three of them. 

With that she left up the stairs. And Midoriya was just about to chase after her to ask her about her gift, he stopped. He looked back at the guy that seemed to not be leaving the poor girl alone. He recalled her furious expression. “Yeah, I’ll just leave her be.” He rationalized to himself.

“What was that Midoriya?” Uraraka asked, “Sorry, I’m still kinda frazzled from- well- everything. What?”

“Oh it’s just. I was going to ask her about her gift, but I have a feeling she doesn’t want to be followed by two people in such succession.”

She froze in the same fear as Midoriya at the thought. “Yeah, good call staying here.” 

Soon enough they found themselves settling down in their respective rooms. Uraraka got a room to herself, despite her argument that they could save money by just having one room, they both fervently encouraged her to take her own room. She reluctantly agreed after considerable convincing. 

Uraraka sat back on her bed. It was surprisingly personal. There was a nice quilted blanket and a nice tap for water, and even a small fire area to boil water for a warm bath. Maybe a bit cramped for some people, but it felt homey to her. A bath sounded nice, in fact. She considered it, but she had already convinced herself by the time she walked into the door. She turned on the tap and freezing water came gushing out. 

It was so cool. She had heard about running water, the revolutionary invention. A pressurized system that ran stored water from a well or reservoir and pumped it straight to your room through a filter system. A fantastical system that had no reliance on magic, gifts, and had full autonomy. “I wonder how expensive this must be to install.” She commented to herself with an almost deprecating laugh. 

She poured the water into the kettle and walked over to the tiny little brick section in her room. All of it was so fancy. She hooked up the kettle onto the wire over the fire. She grabbed the match boxes from the mantle, then eyed her staff. She could try a fire charm. She could try it. 

She thought of the danger of it. ‘What if I catch the room on fire? Imagine the expenses,’ she thought. ‘Yeah, best not to risk it.’ 

Under the matches was a little note. ‘Your first bind of wood is on the house, - your housekeeping staff.’ “This place is so nice, my gosh.” She gawked. “Man.” She lit the fire and waited for it to boil. She heard a knock at the door.

“Oh, come in! It’s unlocked.” She shouted to the door. 

In came a boy with messy green hair, and freckles matching on each side of his face. Midoriya, but no Iida. “Iida’s going to find a place to get some food.” He answered before she even asked.

“Oh, got it.” She said, distracted.

“Whatcha boiling water for?” He asked.

“Oh, I’m just going to take a bath.” She said. 

“Ooh, nice, trying out the running water?” He observed.

“Yeah, it’s really cool.” She said back.

“I know right! It’s so fascinating! They found a way to pressurize it right into your room! Did you know that a gift less person made it?” His eyes were stars.

She, in fact, did not. She shook her head.

“Yeah! His family was a family of water based gifts, but they sadly passed away. He wanted to commemorate them but he had no power to be able to do so, but apparently he had an excellent eye for innovation, and he created a fountain of water without any magic or gifts whatsoever!” He raved, avidly fanboying over the absolute genius, at least in his eyes.

“You are really invested in this.” Uraraka laughed.

“O-oh, yeah. I guess it’s just-“ he hesitated, unsure, but he continued, “actually, for most of my life I thought I was giftless.” He admitted.

Uraraka’s eyes widened, invested in that story.

“Well- honestly my entire gift manifestation was kinda weird. I mean, I didn’t go through any significant physical changes, and I had always wanted to be an adventurer, so it’s not like it inspired me. Or, maybe it did. Mom always said as soon as I got my gift I had a new sense of drive. She said that’s when she started actually worrying about me becoming an adventurer.” He laughed at that, mainly just to himself. “It was weird though. Like, I wasn’t prepared for it at all, I barely have a control over it now.” He rambled on.

Uraraka leaned into his story with a quiet, intense curiosity. “What is your gift Midoriya? What was your manifestation?” She asked, forgetting herself in his story. People don’t just ask about gift manifestations. They were often quite personal, then again they were a group. 

“Well I- it was actually kinda funny. I was taking a walk around the forest around my home, when a sword came hurtling toward me.” He laughed. “Nearly took my arm off. I didn’t even think it was a manifestation. I couldn’t even pick it up at first, it took me nine months of training just to pick it up.” He admitted.

“Woah! No way! Midoriya that’s amazing!” She gaped.

“W-what?” He said surprised.

“You were dedicated to train for nine months, not even knowing if you could ever pick it up!” She cheered.

“Oh… I guess so.” He realized. He almost expected her to laugh at him or something. “When I consulted a mage she said it was extremely irregular, but technically a gift so, yeah.” He ended awkwardly.

“You and Iida really are amazing.” Uraraka all of a sudden complimented. “I mean, you both reacted so quickly to the giant snake. And you both have so much determination to improve.” She commented, twiddling her sleeve.

“You were so good too!” Midoriya complimented back. “I mean, you stood right in front of him and sent it right to his weak spot.”

“Thank you but that was completely by mistake. I flinched and almost missed. Not to mention I froze in place.” She commented to herself more than anything.

“Uraraka-“ Midoriya started, but was interrupted by the bleating of the kettle.

“Oh, looks like that’s ready.” She commented. “Mind if I have a moment to take a bath?” She asked politely.

“Oh, yeah! Totally! Sorry! I’ll be in my room!” Midoriya flustered.

“Don’t apologize.” Uraraka laughed as Midoriya left.

But before she took a step he cracked the door back open and said, “You did absolutely amazing! You took him down by your own merits, and even though it was with magic you easily picked up what took me months to be able to do! I’m confident in you. All of us!” He finished before leaving.

She blushed as the door clicked close. “Thank.. you.” She ended.

She walked over to the door and locked it, walked into her bathroom, and poured the water into the bath. It steamed into her face. She turned on the faucet and filled the bath. A decent amount of the water was warm, but kinda shallow. She didn’t mind though. She neatly folded her clothes to the side and eased herself into the water, when she realized her side. There wasn’t a cut, just a mild skin burn. Midoriya had taken the brunt of the fall.

She almost died, but she had her friends with her. She was alive because of them.  
She pulled herself close. Midoriya said he was confident in her, but she froze when he acted. He was the one who came up with the plan and Iida was the one who was first to act against the snake. She was just kinda there. “I wanna be more like you, Midoriya.” She sighed into her knees, her shoulders tense. She dropped her head into her knees. “I guess I just gotta work harder then.” She said to herself, not knowing if she was more determined, or sad. 

She splashed some water on her face, trying to wash out the dirt from the day. She sighed shakily, looking at her hands. It had only been a few days of wandering and she had already gotten a team and almost died. Like, died, died. Like, never come back dead. “Oh. Yeah... Yeah, that was terrifying.” She said to herself, as if the water was helping her shave away her feelings from the day, as if dirt, layer by layer. She ducked her head under the water and looked back up as she cleared the water from her eyes to find a small soap waiting for her. 

————————

Midoriya went back to his room and settled himself down on his bed. He touched his side gingerly, “looks like my first battle wound.” He laughed, almost with a sense of pride. “I still can't believe i’m here. I actually found myself an adventurers group.” He took a second to congratulate himself. “But man do I have a long way to go. I mean, I almost couldn’t get Uraraka out of the way, not to mention Iida was right about my plan being really risky. It probably was a good idea to step back and consider the situation. Not to mention all I really was able to do was get hurt. I need to find a way to handle my gift so I can use it freely in battle. I need to find a way to balance adventuring and training. Maybe I’ll wake up in the mornings earlier in order to train? That could work, but I don’t want to be tired during the day either. I can’t be a hindrance to my team.” He rambled on to himself, planning what his next move on. 

Before he could go all planning mode, Iida came back in. “I found a great town farmers market here! There is a bountiful selection of food, in fact. We could buy some vegetables and simple herbs, and a small bit of meat and bread. I think we could make a simple little meal with that. Thankfully, this place has a wonderful setup to make meals!” Iida cheered. 

“That sounds great Iida, just- wouldn't it be easier to get some food from the bar downstairs?” Midoriya suggested. 

“But cooking is an important skill to learn as adventurers for when you're out camping! Or even being able to make a meal for someone in crisis after a traumatic event!” Iida shouted with another swipe of his hands. 

“O-Of course, but it's getting late and today was tiring. Don’t you think it would be better to just have a quick meal from downstairs and get some rest?” Midoriya suggested.

Iida pondered it, obvious wanting to pursue his idea of making a meal, but considering the appeal of a good night's rest. He considered further. “Y-es. I do think that’s a good idea.” He forced, giving in to Midoriya’s suggestion.

“We can make dinner. If you really want.” Midoriya went back, leaning forward on the mattress.

Iida took a resisting breath, “No! We will eat a meal from downstairs and get a good night's rest!” He continued.

“Alright then, if you’re sure.” Midoriya agreed, not sure if he should be amused or confused. 

He nodded vigorously, “I’ll go find Uraraka and tell her out plans.” He asserted.

“Oh- She’s taking a bath! Probably good to leave her be.” Midoriya alerted him. 

“Ah, of course! It's important to keep up personal hygiene when traveling! So she’s a nighttime bath person.” He noted duly, “It's important to know each other's schedules to better acclimate to one another!” He announced energetically.

“You really take this seriously, don’t you Iida?” Midoriya asked, almost comforted by his friend's passion.

“Of course! Structure is the key to success, and diligence is it’s fuel!” Iida continued, his armor creaking with his every movement. 

“Why do you want to be an adventurer Iida?” Midoriya asked, leaning back on his mattress.

“To follow up the mantle of my brother, the great Ingenium!!” He cheered with obvious swelling pride, from the glowing smile Iida wore to the tone of his voice pointed toward his admiration for his brother.

“Ahh, that makes sense. From how you’ve talked about him today, both times you’ve mentioned him, you must really look up to him.” Midoriya noted with a smile.

“Why do you want to become an adventurer?” Iida asked, settling himself down onto his own bed.

“Oh, I just. Well it has always been my dream. It’s hard to explain, but almost everyone I’ve looked up to was an adventurer, or wanted to be one. And think about it! They are able to travel around everywhere, making a job out of helping people, meeting so many people. Making so many friends.” Midoriya gushed, hitching on the friend's part. Yeah, that was a big one.

“I agree completely,” Iida agreed sincerely. His tone had dropped to something just as passionate, but less vigorous and more sincere. “There’s nothing more satisfying than helping people.” Iida agreed, his usual pompousness when he said stuff like that vanishing instead to humility. 

They sat in a moment of understanding, as if this was the first time they were actually on the same page. The silence, strangely enough, was quite comforting to Midoriya. But, as if on cue, a scream erupted from across the hall.

They looked at each other for a brief moment of terror, before jetting out the door. “Where did that come from?” Midoriya asked, worried.

“Was it Uraraka?” Iida guessed, just as Uraraka came stumbling out of her room, only her dress on, her hair wet, and feet bare. She had her staff clutched in her grip, “what was that!” 

So that’s a no for Uraraka. “We don’t know.” Midoriya responded.

Around them another door opened. It was a boy with white and red hair. He had a formal outfit on, way too formal for the inn. It was a blue vest with white and gold accents, a white undershirt, and white pants. He looked slightly concerned, but calm.

Without even addressing the three outside the room, we ran to one room over and knocked. “Yaoyorozu?” He waited a second before entering the room. It was unlocked, so they assumed it was okay to look inside.

The three looked in nervously. Inside was another scene. There the dark-haired girl was, a simple, green low cut shirt with its sleeves rolled up and a pair of pants on. On her bed there seemed to be a fancy leather vest with a wide v-neck. Which means she was just in the middle of changing.

She, herself, was strangling a small figure using a bedsheet. “Oh, Hi Todoroki. Sorry, this guy picked my lock and was peeking into my room,” she said kindly to the white and red haired boy, but there was obvious malice toward the guy struggling under the sheets. “He said he was trying to get into the sheets, so I thought I would help him out.” She said fervently, tightening the grip even further. 

“Okay.” He responded. He was about to leave when he spotted the staff on her bed. “Yaoyorozu. Why is my staff here?” He said it plain-faced yet she flinched when he said it. 

“I thought you might want it. Just in case?” She said. “I’m sorry.” She admitted, “It’s still my job to make sure you're safe. I just wanted to make sure.”

“I don’t use magic in battle.” He said back. “I told you that.” Was he mad? Or bored? Disappointed? The three couldn’t tell. 

“I feel like we’re interrupting something private…” Uraraka whispered, stepping back.

“Yeah… we should… go back to our rooms.” Midoriya agreed, feeling awkward intervening into their private conversation.

They headed back into their rooms and closed the door as cautiously as possible. “That looked so tense…” Uraraka almost cried with a hiss.

“Yeah, I feel like I heard something I didn’t have any right to.” Midoriya responded.

“You think that girl is alright?” Uraraka asked.

“She seemed to be handling herself well.” Iida guessed.

“Yeah but still, someone creeping in on you while you're changing…” Uraraka pointed out.

They all shivered. “Maybe we should have one big sleepover in one room.” Iida suggested.

“Yeah, good idea.” Uraraka agreed. “That’s just too unnerving to be alone with that guy around.” She froze. “Oh my god I was in the bathroom while he was doing that.” She looked like her soul had left her body.

None of them had no idea how to respond to that, but thankfully Iida saved the day, “how’d you feel about having dinner at the bar downstairs?” He asked.

“Sounds good, I’m starving.” She agreed, allowing her mind to move on. “I’m just going to grab my shoes and hood real quick. I doubt that guy will bother me, he seems… tied up.” They laughed at that.

She went to grab her shoes and saw the aftermath. The guy was rolling around on the floor, barely able to move, and the girl, Yaoyorozu, looked guilty as she was talking to the boy, Todoroki was it?

None of her business, she grabbed her hood and slid it on, put on her shoes, and met her friends and went down the stairs. They all ordered their food and sat down at a table. Surprisingly enough, not too much after them Yaoyorozu and Todoroki came down, silent. Yaoyorozu looked guilty, and Todoroki unreadable. But no short guy harassing Yaoyorozu.

Midoriya tried not to stare, but he was so curious. Why wouldn’t someone want to use their own gift? It didn’t seem right. But not his place to say anything. He kept an eye out regardless, and noticed his friends doing the same. 

Todoroki walked straight out the front door of the inn, while Yaoyorozu sat down at an open table. “Hey guys… mind if I go sit with her ?” Uraraka asked. “I know I shouldn’t intrude but she looks kinda sad.”

“Of course you can. What a kind thought!” Iida cheered. He didn’t suggest to follow though.

“We should just stay here, too many people could overwhelm her.” Midoriya said to Iida as she walked off.

Iida nodded in agreement. “I know I shouldn’t be, but I’m just so curious. As a knight, I find their dynamic strange. She seems to be perfectly fine handling herself, yet she’s so… nervous.”

“And that guy, Todoroki? He’s so… quiet. Reserved.” Midoriya added.

“Well, I trust Uraraka will be able to help if they ask.” Iida complimented.

Midoriya nodded.

“Uh, hi! I’m Ochako Uraraka.” She introduced, not knowing how to start the conversation. Or what she was even going to say.

“Oh, Hi. I’m Momo Yaoyorozu.” She said with a smile, “Do you need something?” She asked.

“Oh well- uhh- mind if I sit down?” She asked upfront.

“Oh, sure.” Yaoyorozu agreed, opening her arm as an invitation.

She sat down across from her. “I- well I have to admit I overheard part of your conversation with that boy you were talking to, Todoroki, was it?” She asked.

“Oh that, yeah that’s his name. Sorry to disturb you!” She apologized. 

“No, that’s not it, it’s just- well I wanted to ask if you were okay. This may seem strange but- well- I don’t know. You seemed kinda sad.” Uraraka tried to explain, leaning back in the chair.

“Oh, oh I’m good! I was pushing Todoroki when he didn’t want me to. It was my bad.” She said, looking off to the side.

“If I may, you only seemed like you wanted to make sure he was okay. I just don't think you should feel bad about that.” Uraraka tried. 

Yaoyorozu looked at Uraraka with wide eyes. “That’s so sweet! You are so nice.” She said, changing the conversation.

“O-oh, yeah… I just wanted to make sure you were okay.” She responded nervously.

They held an awkward silence for a moment before Uraraka asked, “Do you wanna eat with us?” 

Again, Yaoyorozu’s eyes lit up, then she paused to look at the doorway. She considered Todoroki, and if he’d eat with her. “Sure, I’d love to!” She agreed.

“Yay!” Uraraka cheered, “come sit with us?” She suggested again standing up.

Yaoyorozu followed happily. “We have a dinner partner!” Uraraka cheered.

The two boys gave polite greetings as she sat down. Uraraka sat down next to Iida and Yaoyorozu next to Midoriya. “Hi, I’m Momo Yaoyorozu.”

“Tenya Iida.”

“Izuku Midoriya.”

They both greeted. “Not sitting with your friend?” Iida started, before realizing why they talked to her in the first place, “oh- uhh- Sorry, you don’t have to answer that.”

She laughed nervously, “No, he’s not really the social type.” She responded hesitantly.

Iida looked puzzled for a second before blurting out, “Yaoyorozu! Top of the class Squire guard Yaoyorozu?” He asked suddenly.

She looked surprised before realizing, “Oh! You were there too? I’m sorry, I wasn’t there long before I headed out.” She said shyly, embarrassed she didn’t recognize him.

“It makes sense, we didn’t really see one another for long. But it really is great to meet with someone from the same Class, even if it was for a short time.” He responded.

“I agree.” She said kindly.

“It’s like fate!” Uraraka added, “isn’t that how groups meet up?” Uraraka pushed.

“Yeah, it really is such a coincidence.” Midoriya added.

“That sounds like so much fun!” She agreed, energized, “But Todoroki was barely convinced to have a guard with him. I don’t think he’d agree.” She laughed lightly, but obviously burdened. She scratched the back of her head.

“Your gift is so cool!” Midoriya interjected before things could get awkward. “It must be inconvenient as a knight though.” 

“Yeah, it can be. But I have an area at my house stored with a bunch of metal plates. If I can react fast enough, I can protect myself before someone strikes.” She said.

“So how far can you summon an object.” Midoriya started to quiz.

The night continued, they started to avoid the topic of Todoroki, and moved on to adventuring. After they ate they got into a disagreement over who should take the tab. Yaoyorozu, adamant about repaying their kindness, won in the end. They then parted ways back to their rooms to turn in for the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Todoroki : resident lonely, emo boy


	4. Todoroki Shouto : Enter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Midoriya Goes our for a morning run, which turns into a full blow exercise, which turns into a disaster.

Midoriya woke up early the next morning. The sun wasn’t even up, making it hard to see. He looked around the room. Uraraka, Iida, and Midoriya got into a squabble on who would take beds and who would sleep with some pillows on the floor. He argued to let the other two sleep on the beds, but he was shot down due to his injury and never gave him a change to argue further. Then Iida argued that if that one guy came in It would be best for him to be on the floor, suspecting the guy couldn't reach the bed. Uraraka would’ve laughed along with Midoriya if she hadn’t been fighting tooth and nail with Iida, arguing that him being so stiff in his armor needed a break. That argument dragged on until Uraraka finally gave in after, like, the tenth time he claimed it was his righteous duty.

Midoriya rubbed his eyes, and willed himself out of bed. He took off his vest, more so an encumbrance when exercising. He picked up his sword and carefully exited the room. Iida was sprawled out, surprisingly a very active sleeper, and he had to hop around Iida’s limbs, grabbing his shoes on the way out.

He closed the door with a quiet tap and walked down the spiral staircase down to the main floor/bar room of the inn. He wandered out the door into the fresh morning. The moon was still visible, but the stars were starting to dim. It wasn't really pretty, mainly because he couldn’t see anything, but he liked to imagine the stars were shining brighter. He holstered his sword and looked around the area, trying to figure out a viable running route. 

In the not so far off distance there was a tall plateaued hill. Not only a great exercise, but he imagined just how pretty the sunrise would be. He made sure his sword was secured, then he headed out. He pushed himself a little bit faster than his usual pace. Maybe it was because he was realising just how much work he had left to go, maybe because the route seeed like it would be a little less than usual. He quickly shook off the cold morning, starting to work up a sweat. He watched his feet as he ran, making sure not to trip on tree roots. 

His mind was especially calm. Then again, he did always feel calm while running. Almost as if his brain had a pace. He matched his brain to his breathing, his steps, his arms. HIs brain stayed in rhythm with his body.

As he ran he saw the sun slowly start to rise, which made him only pick up the pace. He didn’t want to miss that sunrise. Soon enough he hit the hill, then the peak incline of the hill. At this point his form had started to suffer, just slightly. He knew how important form was, but the steep incline wasn’t something he was used to running. He pushed forward though, so close to the top, a beautiful red seeping over the horizon line of the hill. The grass slowly turned to stone as he reached the peak.

He leaned over onto his knees for a moment before pulling himself back up. Heaving, he looked at the sunrise. Yes, yes it was gorgeous. The clouds were illuminated by the bright colors, the sky almost looking painted. “Woah.” He mustered.

The sun’s color seeped out into the blue of the sky. It ran through and muddled with the blue. He laughed at himself, knowing just how cliche he was acting, but it truly was beautiful. I mean, when you really think about it, it really is amazing. Sure, it happens daily, but it's still cool how color can just kinda exist in the sky. Without any object to absorb the other color wavelengths other than the atmosphere. So yea-

“Gorgeous.” Midoriya repeated as his breath slowed back down. Taking another moment to enjoy the sun while I slowly hope for the death of these rude children who keep interrupting me.

He finally stood back up and started looking around for a good place to settle, only to realise a certain white and red haired, face scarred, heterochromia-having boy, with a resting ‘I don’t care’ face. “O-Oh. H-HI there.” Midoriya greeted, shocked. He had on a simple pair of black pants and a shirt that appeared to have the forearm of the sleeve cut off?

Where did he come from? How long had he been there? Was he just staring at him? Todoroki just nodded in response. “Uh- Todoroki right?” Midoriya continued, not knowing just how to respond to his presence. He couldn’t tell before, but it was imposing, almost intimidating. 

“Yeah.” He responded coldly. Yeah, definitely imposing. “If you’ll excuse me.” He added politely.

Without another word he turned around and wandered to the other side of the plateau. There was a little bump on the plateau that he went behind. He was probably there to exercise too, or was he there to watch the sunrise? 

Midoriya shook off the strangeness of him and started to stretch, and then unsheathed his sword. He started with his practice swings. Two handed center, two handed upper left to lower right and vice versa. One handed with the same pattern then switch hands. Center jabs, side jabs, upward jabs on center, left and right. But all the while he felt slightly disconcerted by Todoroki, absolutely silent, behind the bump.

He then moved on to muscle exercises, deciding on doing a core and lower body workout that day. The rock was a bit rough on his back, and injured as he did his core work until he felt something warm and irritating on his side.. Oops. “Ah shoot!” Midoriya whispered, forgetting his attempts at trying to match the silence of his new ‘workout buddy’ on the plateau.

He pulled up his shirt to find his bandages starting to be bled through. He hadn’t really considered the idea that he could’ve opened up his wounds when he headed out that morning. He sighed and considered taking off his shirt.

One one side, he didn’t want to stain his shirt. On the other, it was cold. Not super cold, but cold. He debated it, considering how much work it would take to remove blood from his shirt. After some deliberation he left it on. He could just wash it. He’d rather be warm and have to do cleaning rather than be cold and preserve something that was just going to get dirty anyways. 

Now, he debated getting in a little leg work before heading back. Just a little one. A few lunges, squats, and his friends will be none the wiser. He assured himself that yeah, it was perfectly fine to do a little more while his side was gushing out blood. No biggie.

He started on the lunges, then pushed to do a few more. Then He switched to squats, but those not seeming to be enough he somehow convinced himself (in a completely and utter stupid sense of logic) that jumping squats wouldnt hurt. 

That was until he landed, pain shot through his side, and he lost his footing, being sent to the floor. He hit his knee on the way down. “Ow… I guess I deserved that.” Midoriya reasoned. For a moment he didn’t want to move. He just kinda, sat there, limply, waiting for his knee to decide working was a viable option. 

“Do you want help?” Todoroki asked from behind the bend.

Midoriya rolled over to try and see him. It appeared that he had wrapped up his exercise and was heading down the mountain. His face was the exact same though. Unbothered.

“Oh, uhh… Im good.” He said at first, trying to push himself up. HIs knee yelled at him to stop moving immediately, so he froze in place. “Kinda?”

“Do you need help?” He asked. It was a slightly different question; basically saying, okay, you don’t want help, do you need it?

Midoriya pondered his pride. It was shattered. He considered if he really wanted to encumber this guy who clearly didn’t like being around people. His bleeding side and knee made the choice for him. “Yeah. Sorry.” He finally agreed.

“Hmm.” He responded, the only indication he had heard Midoriya. He gave out a hand which Midoriya took.

Of course, his injuries protested, but he grit his teeth as he pulled himself up. Todoroki didn’t say a thing. He just looked puzzled for a second, then sighed. The biggest show of emotion Midoriya had seen from him. What did that mean though?

He walked around the corner again, leaving Midoriya confused, and came back with a staff. His staff. Oh, he was trying to hide the staff. That's why he was up there. 

He walked over and gave it to Midoriya to stabilize himself on it. MIdoriya looked back at him shocked. The only times he’s seen him, he’d been trying to get rid of it. Then again he hadn’t seen him a lot but still. Twice in a row is strange. Midoriya grabbed it hesitantly as he started to walk. 

Todoroki started to walk ahead. He wasn’t going to stay to watch this guy he never met struggle his way down a mountain side. He didn’t know whether that was a relief or even more embarrassing. “Oh- I’m Izuku Midoriya and- and thank you, uuh, Todoroki!” He fumbled his words out. He had to keep himself from asking wayyy too personal of questions for an acquaintance.

“You’re Welcome. Goodbye.” He said blandly as he left.

It was a cold, even heartless goodbye. He seemed as if he really couldn’t care less. Yet he helped him with the staff that he obviously was very desperate to get rid of. Midoriya tried to reason this encounter. Todoroki could have helped him walk back, yet he didn’t. Most likely because he didn’t want to be around people, but Midoriya held onto a small, unlikely belief that Todoroki didn’t want to embarrass him by helping him all the way back. Midoriya sighed as he took his first few steps, knees and side together just hating him.

By the time he was about halfway his knee had stopped hurting. Sorta. Kinda. A little bit. It stopped hurting enough, okay? He stashed the staff into a tree, trying to make it as un-noticeable as possible. He limped around for a while until he found a stick to walk with instead, but for some reason the moment resonated with him. But why? It felt strangely familiar. He tried to brush the feeling off, but he just couldn’t place it. It almost felt like guilt…

_____________________

He wandered himself into the inn. It was just morning, so not many people were bustling around. Just the bartender asleep on the counter, obviously not ready to be awake just yet. Tuesday’s. 

Midoriya braved the stairs one at a time. He tried to quiet his steps every time he put his weight on his hurt knee, but each time he clomped a little too loudly on the floor. He pressed his arms against the wall to hold himself up as he forced himself up the stairs.

Finally, he had gotten himself up the stairs to face one angry Iida. Like, pissed. 

“H-Hey Iida…” he started, “How’s your morning going?”

Iida looked like he was about to punch him through the wall then and there. “Oh I don’t know, I woke up to find my partner had disappeared. Would you know what happened to him, and why he looks like he was tossed off a cliff?” He seethed.

“Funny story,” Midoriya laughed, nothing funny about the current situation. “I was just, ya know? Exercising?”

“It looks to me like you hurt him.” He continued his thought process, “and I don’t make a habit of letting people hurt my friends.”

“I- I’m sorry Iida!” Midoriya begged, hunching his shoulders and looking straight at the floor. Nothing could have forced him to look up at Iida.

He pressed his hand on Midoriya’s shoulder. It was way too strong, but not painful. “Inside.”

Midoriya wasn’t about to risk his life by not listening to Iida. He limped himself into the room, which just made it worse. When he opened the door he found Uraraka still asleep, sleeping on her stomach, one arm hugging the pillow and the other over her head. She was drooling on the pillow, only slightly.

Iida walked in behind him and shut the door. Silent. “Now tell me this Midoriya. What do you do when you wake up to find your friend has virtually disappeared? When he already has an injury and apparently an affinity for not backing down from danger.” He said, referring to the previous day's adventure. 

“I’m- I’m sorry! I really am!” He continued to apologize profusely.

“You are on bed rest till further notice. We’re staying another night.” Iida stated, putting his foot down.

This caught Midoriya, however. “What? But- we should keep moving!” He objected.

“Oh. And why’s that? How could we possibly when you’re like this?” He asked accusingly.

“Well I- but I- I’m fi-“

“Oh no you don’t. You’re not pulling that card.” He demanded, ending the discussion like some father figure. Hah, imagine having a father figure, Rip Midoriya. 

“But I” he hesitated, looking at the previous argument between Iida and Uraraka stood testament to his stubbornness. “You’re not letting this go.”

“Not a chance.” Iida responded, starting to chop their air almost like breaking the tension, “as a Squire it’s my duty to ensure the protection and defense of all my party mates!” He cheered. 

“Yeah Iida, I hear ya.” Midoriya laughed, the excuse like a broken record. “You truly are a force to be reckoned with.”

“As an Iida son-“ he started, his spiel neverending.

“OhmygodIidaIsweartogod-IfIhavetolistentoyourantaboutyourresponsibilitiesasamemberoftheIidafamilyonemoretimeIwillflowtyououtthwtwindow-Please be quiet.” Uraraka blurbed, clearly not into the whole mornings thing. There was, however, ample threat behind her words.

That shut up the room real quick. “I’m going to get some food. You are going to stay here.” Iida scrutinized. “I’ll be back.” He paused, considering. Apparently not fearing death, he quietly whispered to Uraraka, “Do you want anything.”

She moves slightly. One of her eyes barely visible from behind her hair and arm. There was death in that glare. “Sugar toast.” She said blatantly.

Iida looked like he wanted to interject about the unhealthiness of having sugar on plain bread for breakfast, but he stopped himself in light of morning Uraraka. 

Iida gave one last knowing look to Midoriya before he finally left. Uraraka fell back to sleep and Midoriya just kinda sat there. “What do I do now?” He asked himself, boredom growing. He wasn’t able to finish his exercise, which made him irritated and fidgety. He sighed as he lay back onto the mattress with a sigh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hah. An unexplainable kindness from Todoroki, a few blushes from Uraraka. Suffer.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aha, How’s momma Inko doing I wonder?

Midoriya sat, in agony, as he started to fidget with his injuries. It wasn’t like he hadn’t got hurt before. (Kacchan had made sure of that.) But something about that one just kinda… hurt.

He poked at his side, hissed, then poked again. He nudged his knee, winced, then nudged again, as if trying to familiarize himself with the pain. Meanwhile it seemed Uraraka was having the sleep of the century. 

She was face first, drooling, on the pillow. She was sprawled out and her hair in every possible direction. She had a light snore, barely noticeable. Her breath was even, chest rising and falling with a steady rhythm. She looked extremely peaceful. Midoriya was, suffice to say, calmed yet jealous.

He looked back around the room. It was still boring, until he realized his promise. “A letter!” He whisper shouts, realizing the cure to his boredom.

He twists himself uncomfortably, still trying to avoid moving his knee, in attempts to grab his bag. He hooks his finger on one of the latches and pulls it close. He shuffles through it and pulls out a quill, ink, and some paper. He lays his bag down as flat as he can on his lap and lays the paper down.

He runs his hand over the pretty blank paper, smoothing out as it crinkled under his palm. He started writing.

‘Dear Mom. 

How’ve you been? I just finished my first quest! I fought off some serpents for a nice old lady.’ He casually left out the part of it being bigger than a house and poisonous. ‘Apparently, they had been affected by the lady, who was a witch, to be aggressive. But the real interesting part was the lady! Oh, also, I already got myself some friends! Uraraka and Iida. Uraraka is a spell caster, can you believe that?!? And Iida is her guard, and guess what? His brother is Ingenium. Ingenium. Uraraka is really talented and encouraging and Iida is really responsible. I have a feeling that they’ll be great to team with, and they’ve already helped me so much. You have nothing to worry about!

I recently just settled into a hotel for the time being, I might’ve gotten a little hurt so I’m on bed rest, but it’s really just a scratch! Promise. I’ve met two other really interesting people as well. It’s, funnily enough, another spell caster/squire duo. But they’re quite different from Iida and Uraraka. The spell caster, Todoroki, seems to not even want to be a spell caster. It’s frustrating strange to me. Then the knight is really nice, and has one interesting gift! She can summon objects she’s familiar with as long as she knows where it is. Ain’t that so fascinating! Not to mention useful.

But yeah, I’m doing great. How about you? How’s the garden been? Have you been taking with Ms.Bakugou? Have you heard anything about Kachan? I hope you’re doing well!

-Izuku’

He settled down the paper as he waited for the ink to dry. It looked really nice, exempting the scratched out parts. He hoped his mom wouldn’t be suspicious, knowing his habit for rambling. Once the letter had dried he tied it up and cautiously put it back into his bag, not wanting to damage it. He treated it like his lifeblood.

Only then had his situation really hit. His mom wasn’t there, making breakfast. He couldn’t go out into town to shop with his mom anymore. He had left his school. Okay that one hurt less. But still- he had left his mom. All of a sudden his side didn’t hurt so bad.

He pulled himself just a little closer to his core. He looked down at the letter in his hands as he started crinkling the smooth paper under his grip. He had left his mom, alone. He didn’t have her in his corner, and vice versa. 

A stone. One large small settled in his gut. It was hard, and cold, and guilty, but there was nothing he could do about it. So he took a deep breath and laid back, lessening his grip on the paper. 

His worries, his doubts, they sat as a weight in his gut. Burdening, but not unmanageable. The one difference from other emotional stress was this was so constant, and he didn’t know how to deal with them.

Could he really be good enough? Would he be able to manage his stress? Has he abandoned his mom? 

He took a deep breath and shook off the thoughts… sorta. He wasn’t going to allow himself to be brought down, therefore burdening his friends, with his own worries. 

With a deep breath he pushed himself back up and rolled up his now dry letter. He tied it with a small rope and stashed it away carefully. With that he was left, again, wi5 no outlet to cure his ever growing boredom. He had finally accepted the fact that he wasn’t moving for a long while. 

He braved Uraraka’s grouchy morning state, in dire need of someone to talk to. “Uraraka.”

She growled in response. Her eyelashes flickered, but her eyes stayed closed. 

“Uhh- So you're not a morning person?” Midoriya asked, trying to spark conversation.

“So you’re a self destructive person eh?” She grouched, referencing his multiple injuries.

Midoriya chuckled. Nervously, but still. “Okay, I’ll leave you alone.” He gave in.

But she seemed to be too awake for that apparently. She started to rouse herself awake. She pushed herself around, as if it wasn’t responding properly to her brain, until she rolled right off the bed with a loud thunk.

“Uraraka!” He shouted, trying to reach over to her, twisting his spine like a towel in order to do so. 

She oomphed in reply before detangling herself from her cage of blankets. “I’m good.” She finally replied as pushed herself up, blankets pooling around her. “Aw man, that hurt!” She complained light-heartedly, rubbing her head.

“You seem awake.” Iida said walking through the door, food in one hand, door handle in the other. His look was disapproving. And rightfully so, after getting the death stare from her she was up bright eyed and bushy tailed around Midoriya.

“Iida!” Midoriya greeted a little too cheery.

“Midoriya. Uraraka.” Iida greeted formally with a nod. “Good. Morning.”

“Oh come on Iida! You’re to serious for the morning!” Urararaka complained, hypocrisy spread across her grin. 

“You are quite the one to talk.” Iida jabbed, closing the door behind him. He walked over and placed the tray down on a small table. “Your… sugar toast,” Iida said, passing a piece of toast over to Uraraka. 

She beamed as she took it and dug in like a rabid animal. She was licking her lips, only crumbs left, within seconds. Iida picked up a plate of what seemed to be absolute mush and passed it to Midoriya. “Oatmeal. Packed with healthy food to energize your healing.” He justified, picking up another plate for himself. 

Midoriya wanted to grouch, but he knew Iida was just trying to be helpful. He settled for a petty glance as he took the bowl and spoon. He pulled his good knee up onto the bed and turned toward his friends. Iida sat himself onto Uraraka’s bed. They both looked tired in their own ways, when Midoriya looked at them.

Uraraka was obvious. Her hair was everywhere, rebelling against gravity’s pull. Her clothes were wrinkled and her face smooshed and puffy from sleeping face first, drool being swiped away slowly. Iida had his hair taken care of, and his armor was back on with shine from the window, but his eyes were still tired. It was probably because he woke up to a missing Midoriya.

Mirodiya shriveled just slightly, another twinge of guilt hitting him. Sorry Iida. “Hey, did you see Yaoyorozu or Todoroki?” Midoriya asked, shoveling the food he would never admit was good, into his mouth.

Iida shook his head. “No, neither of them made an appearance. Why? Are you looking for them?”

“Oh, not really.” Midoriya started, putting aside his bowl. “It just, Todoroki actually gave me his staff as a walking stick. We sorta ran into each other while I was working out. It was kinda strange but he just gave it to me and left. He barely even acknowledged my existence.” He explained, trying to communicate the irregular ness of the encounter. He didn’t have too much experience from people, but he assumed it wasn’t usually that awkward. 

“Woah, really? From what I saw he really didn’t want to keep that thing.” Uraraka pondered with him.

“It is strange. If I’m being honest though, Todoroki and Yaoyorozu both confuse me. Their relationship seems to be quite…” Iida tried to explain, not having the right words.

“Strained?” Midoriya suggested.

“Irregular.” Iida continued. “And yes, strained. Usually squires and spellcasters are paired by fortune tellers, so it’s almost unheard of for them to struggle with each other so deeply. I guess it’s not my place to pry, but it’s foreign to me.” Iida ended.

“Yeah, I hear you Iida. Todoroki is so… confusing!” Uraraka added, more exuberant in her confusion. “I mean, I was sooo excited when I figured out I was a spell caster! But he seems to hate it. Not to mention he doesn’t seem like he wants to be particularly close to Yaoyorozu. He’s so… unenthusiastic.”

“He seems lonely.” Midoriya added. “I mean… what makes you not want to use magic?” He looked at the floor, trying to figure it out.

“It’s anyone’s guess.” Iida resolved to himself. They didn’t know, and it wasn’t their place to pry. But that didn’t mean they couldn’t worry. Did it?

They sat in a strange silence as they finished off their meal. They were close enough to joke and chat, but not yet close enough to be comfortable with every silence, or know how to break each quiet moment between them.

So instead each of them sat in uncomfortable silence, none of them confident enough to make the first statement.

—————————

Yaoyorozu liked to think she was at least a little approachable. I mean, sure some people said she looked intimidating upon first introduction, but she felt like she was generally a nice enough person. Sure she wasn't perfect but… was she at fault here?

She had to be. There was no way he acted so cold without her doing something. But what was it? Was she not good enough? She had seen what Todoroki was capable of and she knew he was more skilled than her. She had already resided to that and took it as fact. So was she really just useless to him? But then why did he have her stick around?

She pondered her situation, running over what she could have done wrong. Meanwhile, Todoroki walked silently in front of her. They had left early, which she didn’t mind at all, but he was so quiet it hurt her.

No. She decided. She hadn’t ruined anything yet. He was just reserved. She had already given up finding his staff at this point. That was futile. She just had to give him his space and leave him be. That would inevitably be the best way to get him to trust her, in the most roundabout way. 

————————

Todoroki hadn’t had the energy nor the will to dispute his father on getting a squire, and although his dad had already chosen the squire would be the best out of the class, he still dragged him out to a fortune teller as a formality. His dad had never been one for fortune telling, and he tried to communicate this small, strange pride directed at his father, as one thing he hadn’t mastered, through an angry glance.

So there he had stood, in a slightly too cluttered house, with a squire he had never met to figure out if he was to start his adventure with her. He honestly had no clue whether his dad was going to have him be with a squire or not. Apparently having a squire was an important step in order to rise above. In order to learn how to lead others, he needed a party to reign over.

It seethed Todoroki. He didn’t want any party. He didn’t want to lead anyone else. The idea of having power over someone else in the way his dad had made him feel disgusted. His eye twitched.

He looked over to the squire. She had a strange set of armor that seemed anything but practical. He was sure he would do better alone. It didn’t matter how irregular the squire, he didn’t need anyone. He just needed to get away from his fathers control and prove he didn’t need him. He was better than his father. 

His father boomed, “Hag.” He said simply, as if telling her to get on with it.

She breathed out of her nose aggressively, as if she was chuckling. She smiled as she looked at the boy and the girl. “Could I have your hands?” She asked, her voice scratchy yet warm.

Todoroki gave his hand reluctantly. His left hand. The squire gave hers. It was quite calloused and rough despite the girls overall pristine look about her. So she knew how to put some work into her goals. Wasn't it like it changed much. 

The woman carefully took both of their hands. She pulled into herself for a moment. Concentrating. “You don’t know one another well, do you?” She asked knowingly. She didn’t give them the opportunity to respond. “It’s truly hard to tell… there's something… blocking my reading. A barrier.” She paused.

She gave it a few moments, the room's temperature steadily rising as Endeavor gripped his staff. It was a sturdy and resilient staff. All splinters were always shined and cleared as they were spotted. It was a truly magnificent staff. The gem in the center was from a dragons stash. It's a prime jewel. A stone apparently originating from an endless flame that had burned down countless forests. Shoto Todoroki found it fitting.

She finally started talking again. “Yes, yes I think this will do just nicely. In fact, I think this will do quite well.” She finally agreed. 

Satisfied, Endeavor grabbed his son's arm and pulled him away, just like that. But she wasn’t done. “And Shoto.” She said to differentiate the two Todorokis. “Trust your adventure. I know you don’t believe in the more superstitious aspects of magic, but trust you will find what you need even if you don’t want it.” She pushed.

To that, both the Todorokis flinched as they left. For different reasons, but flinching all the same. 

The Fortune teller was telling the girl something too. Something about patience, or maybe pastries? No, patience seemed to fit better.

But it didn’t matter. He was going to shake the squire by the end of their first week. He was sure she would be able to handle herself anyhow.

**Author's Note:**

> The narrator needs a raise and a coffee.


End file.
